INTRODUCTION - Read Psalm 95; Hebrews 3:7-4:11
Psalm 95 is the 1st of six PRAISE AND WORSHIP PSALMS that David wrote, speaking of God's greatness in creation. It has been used in the Synagogue for the Jew's Sabbath worship. We are encouraged in this Psalm to:
* Praise and Worship the Lord (Verses 1-7).
* Think about our life and whether or not we are obedient to God's Word (Verses 8-11).
"Everything that has been created gives glory to the Lord. This Psalm writer encourages his people to bring an offering of worship to God. He also calls for submission from His creation."
Max Lucado.
Worship must come from obedient, sincere hearts, and therefore, the two parts of this Psalm are of equal importance. We are "CALLED TO WORSHIP", but we are also warned in the 'HARDENING OF OUR HEARTS". This is why this psalm was "quoted and analysed" in Hebrews 3:7-4:11. The writer of Hebrews was certain that David was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and like David, he too was encouraging his readers - the early Christians - in their struggling faith.
"So, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in their rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried Me, though for 40 years they saw what I did. That I was angry with that generation; I said, "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways." Hebrews 3:7&8 (NLT)
"As Jesus was greater than Moses, the Hebrew Christians were partakers in Christ and had confidence in holding fast. Like us today, they had no excuse not to TRUST AND OBEY."
Roger Hahn
PRAISE & WORSHIP - Read Psalm 95:1-7
In the 1st part of this Psalm we are motivated to PRAISE AND WORSHIP our Father God, and His Son Jesus, though David himself is yet to know Jesus personally.
HOW ARE WE ENCOURAGED TO DO THIS?
* With a JOYFUL NOISE.
* With MUSIC AND SONG.
* By BOWING DOWN in humility.
* TOGETHER in God's presence.
"Come let us sing for joy to the Lord....let us come before Him with thanksgiving, and extol Him with music and song......Come, let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker He is our God." Psalm 95:1,2 & 6&7 (NIV0
The song of praise is a joyful noise. When we humble down before the Lord we have much to "shout joyfully" about, as His children. With a happy and enthusiastic heart, we can use music and songs to show the Lord how grateful we are for His blessings.
"When we praise and worship the Lord, all our desires and needs are met." Lindsay Terry
"Our worship should express a heart of thanksgiving for a God who has done so much for us."
David Guzik
There is a "gentle plea" for God's people to "bow down and worship Him". It's easy to let the busyness and difficulties of life to overwhelm us and cut off our focus for worship. But when we humble ourselves and look into the holiness of God, our Spirit is refreshed. Worship is also a way to exemplify our devotion to God's Son, Jesus Christ, as we serve Him in humility.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:10 (NIV)
David mentions honouring God and His Son Jesus, with a conscious awareness that we are in their presence. Do you want the joy of a clos relationship with them? You can have this by simple confession of your faith in worship!
WHY SHOULD WE PRAISE & WORSHIP?
Again, David reminds us that there are 4 reasons why we need to praise and worship our Father God and His Son Jesus.
* He is our SAVIOUR.
* He is the KING OF KINGS.
* He is our CREATOR.
* He is our GOOD SHEPHERD.
"Let us shout aloud to the ROCK OF OUR SALVATION...........For the Lord is the great God, the GREAT KING above all gods......The sea is His, for HE MADE IT, and His hand formed the dry land......We are the PEOPLE OF HIS PASTURE, THE FLOCK UNDER HIS CARE"
Psalm 95:1b,3,5 7b (NIV)
Jesus is our SAVIOUR, "the rock of our salvation". As a child of God, one of the main reasons we have to worship Him is because He sent His Son to SAVE AND REDEEM US.
"I know that my REDEEMER lives and in the end He will stand on the earth." Job 19:25 (NLT)
"For God did not send His Son into the world, to condemn the world, but to SAVE THE WORLD."
John 3:17
God and His Son Jesus have great power and sovereignty as the KING OF KINGS. We need to understand their greatness whenever we worship them.
"We have the right to worship God with great gladness, but never without a sense of His majesty."
G. Campbell Morgan
God's greatness is illustrated by His creation. From the lowest valleys - "the depths of the earth" to the highest "mountain peaks", from the "seas" to the "dry lands". We owe our "humble worship" to God because we are His children and HE MADE US. HE IS OUR MAKER AND CREATOR. It is right that our Creator should be our "restorer and reconciler" as we kneel before Him.
"Through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.....For God in all His fulness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself."
Colossians 1:16 & 19. (NLT)
"If God owns the sea, because He made it, HE OWNS YOU, BECAUSE HE MADE YOU TOO. You are His creation, you belong to Him. He claims you, will you dispute His claim?"
Charles Spurgeon
As children of God, we are part of the Good Shepherd's flock. He leads us into His shelter and protects us from "enemies". We are dependent on Him, and without our Shepherd we have little hope of life. We may wander and "get lost" and then "what would be the consequences?" With God and His Son Jesus as our Good Shepherds, we have nothing to fear, for we have CARE AND COMFORT.
"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for His scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places they were scattered on a dark and cloudy day. I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak." Ezekial 34:11,12&15
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. .....I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:11&14
"Yahweh is our God - our SHEPHERD - and "we are the sheep of His pasture" - and the sheep of His hand and His special care." David Guzik
HUMBLE OBEDIENCE TO GOD - Read Psalm 95-8-11; Hebrews 3:7-4:11
Almost all Hebrews 3:7-4:11 is a quotation of Psalm 95:11. David, like the writer of Hebrews is giving a warning and exhortation for their readers to live "godly lives". This meant:
* LIVING IN HUMILITY, without a "hardened heart".
* SHOWING DEVOTION, TRUST AND OBEDIENCE to their Father God and His Son Jesus.
The Hebrew word for HEARING the Word of God is the same as OBEYING. If you want to hear God's voice and to benefit from what He says in His Word, make sure you LISTEN with a SOFT, OPEN HEART. The Hebrews, like the Israelites, were under pressure to deny their faith. They were facing persecution. "Merribah" and Massah" were CODE WORDS for TESTING.
"The Lord says: "Don't harden your hearts as Israel did at Merribah , as they did at Massah, in the wilderness. For their your ancestors tested and tried my patience even though they saw everything I did." Psalm 95:8&9 (NIV)
This was a self examination for the Hebrew Christians who were being deceived by sin and were failing to stay true to Jesus Christ. Devotion to God and His Son, Jesus is exemplified by humble service and obedience to His will - by loving and caring for others, and being faithful to God's word.
The Hebrew's warning was similar to that of the Israelites. When we turn away from God, we have nothing to turn to, and have been excluded from "eternal rest". They rejected Him, and He condemned their "generation of unbelievers" to die in the wilderness.
"Watch out, lest you have an evil, unbelieving heart, that turns away from the living God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God, just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ." Hebrews 3:12&14 (NLT)
"Something is wrong when a worshipper does not obey and trust God." Charles Spurgeon
Fortunately, there were faithful believers in the next generation after Moses', who entered the Promised Land - people like Joshua, Caleb, Rahab; and then David himself who:
"Walked with God, , enjoyed a relationship with Him and were devoted to God and His Word."
David Guzik
"And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among the people. I the Lord, have spoken." Ezekial 34:24 (NLT)
We too, like David and the "godly people" have been given the opportunity to "enter into the rest of God and His Son Jesus Christ"; not to wander astray in the wilderness. Because of Their TENDERNESS, LOVE AND GRACE, this "eternal, Sabbath rest" is available to us.
"God's promise of entering His rest still stands, so we ought not to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this GOOD NEWS - that God has prepared this REST - has been announced to us just as it was then. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who LISTENED TO GOD. For only THOSE WHO BELIEVE CAN ENTER THE REST. .....For God's rest is for people to enter, but those who first heard the GOOD NEWS failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for ENTERING HIS REST, AND THAT TIME IS TODAY.....So there is a SPECIAL REST STILL WAITING FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD."
Hebrews 4:1-3, 6,7&9
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Lindsay, Terry, "The Sacrifice of Praise", 2002, Integrity Publishers
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Morgan, G Campbell, "Commentary on Psalm 95 - Morgan's Exposition on the Bible", 1874-84, studylight.org
Sourgeon, Charles, "The Treasury of David - Commentary on Psalms", 1882/2021, Christianity.com
